A post and beam cabin in the B.C. woods

August 23, 2013

Monika and Sam built this small cabin of their own design near Horsefly Lake in central British Columbia. They had no real plans but as Sam is a log home builder and Monika has an eye for choosing finishes, it all came together beautifully, wouldn’t you agree?

It has a classic small cabin floor plan with an open living area, a cozy loft sleeping space accessed by ladder, and a porch running along the front. The structure is post and beam, using logs instead of squared-off timbers. Sizable logs support the roof structure, the loft floor, and the porch. The walls between the log corner posts are of standard 2×6 stick construction.

The exterior displays an appealing combination of naturally finished logs and board siding painted barn red. There is a cedar board and batten treatment up in the gables with live-edge cedar boards (having a wavy edge corresponding to the irregular outer surface of the tree) installed below.

The cabin is pretty small with just 320 ft² (29.7 m²) on the ground floor, and wood finishes inside add to the cozy feel. The floors and ceilings are pine, but the walls are the real eye-catcher. Sam and Monika nailed live-edge boards over painted drywall with gaps between the boards so as to mimic chinked timbers. Look up and you can also see the hefty log that serves as the roof ridge beam.

The kitchen has hand-built storage and maple countertops. A round wood top added to an old wringer washing machine gave it a new life as the kitchen island. The cabin is grid-connected with electric heat but it is dry — there is no running water. Bathroom facilities are in a massively overbuilt post and beam outhouse that matches the cabin.

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